• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.35-40
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• 2016

OBJECTIVES : The objective of this study is to analyze the nonlinear behavior of block pavements using multi-load level falling weight deflectometer (FWD) deflections. METHODS : Recently, block pavements are employed not only in sidewalks, but also in roadways. For the application of block pavements in roadways, the structural capacities of subbase and subgrade are important factors that support the carry traffic load. Multi-load level FWD testing was conducted on block pavements to analyze their nonlinear behavior. The deflection ratio due to the increase in load was analyzed to estimate the nonlinearity of block pavements. Finite element method with nonlinear soil model was applied to simulate the actual nonlinear behavior of the block pavement under different levels of load. RESULTS : The results of the FWD testing show that the center deflections in block pavements are approximately ten times greater than that in asphalt pavements. The deflection ratios of the block pavement due to the increase in the load range from 1.2 to 1.5, indicating that the deflection increased by 20~50%. The material coefficients of the nonlinear soil model were determined by comparing the measured deflections with the predicted deflections using the finite element method. CONCLUSIONS : In this study, the nonlinear behavior of block pavements was reviewed using multi-load level FWD testing. The deflection ratio proposed in this study can estimate the nonlinearity of block pavements. The use of nonlinear soil model in subbase and subgrade increases the accuracy of predicting deflections in finite element method.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.153-160
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• 2009

Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) tests were performed to evaluate the structural capacity of glass fiber reinforced (GFR), polymer modified (PM), and unmodified asphalt pavement in Korea-LTPP (Long Term Pavement Performance) section. FWD tests showed that the tensile strains of GFR and PM asphalt pavements at the bottom of asphalt layer were 29% and 21% less than that of unmodified asphalt pavement. The structural capacity was then used as a performance criterion for calculating the cost effect of GFR and PM asphalt pavements. From the results, 5cm of asphalt layer thickness was reduced by applying GFR asphalt, and 3cm by applying PM asphalt. However, construction cost of PM and GFR asphalt pavement were increased due to the higher GFR and PM asphalt price. Life cycle cost analysis showed that the initial construction cost of GFR and PM asphalt pavement were higher but the management and user cost were less than those of unmodified asphalt pavement.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.29 no.1D
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• pp.49-54
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• 2009

The excellent load transfer at transverse joints ensures the high performance of jointed plane concrete pavements(JPCP). Load transfer efficiency(LTE) is affected by dowel-bars, aggregate interlock and types of underlying layers, and these factors have to be modelled adequately for a reasonable analysis of JPCP. Generally, the joint stiffness has been represented by a spring model for the shear transfer by aggregate interlock or dowels. However dowel-bars, aggregate interlock and types of underlying layers have not been considered together in the design of joints. In this study, the joint stiffness that considered those factors was presented by comparing LTE obtained using FWD(Falling Weight Deflectometer) with theoretical results obtained using the finite element analysis. In addition, the effects of temperature and concrete age, on the joint stiffness were investigated.

• 한국도로학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.485-491
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• 2008

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.131-136
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• 2016

OBJECTIVES : The objective of this research is to determine the integrity of pavement structures for areas where voids exist. Furthermore, we conducted the study of voided-area analysis and remaining life prediction for pavement structures using finite element method. METHODS : To determine the remaining life of the existing voided areas under asphalt concrete pavements, field and falling weight deflectometer (FWD) tests were conducted. Comparison methods were used to have better accuracy in the finite element method (FEM) analysis compared to the measured surface displacements due to the loaded trucks. In addition, the modeled FEM used in this study was compared with well-known software programs. RESULTS : The results show that a good agreement on the analyzed and measured displacements can be obtained through comparisons of the surface displacement due to loaded trucks. Furthermore, the modeled FEM program was compared with the available pavement-structure software programs, resulting in the same values of tensile strains in terms of the thickness of asphalt concrete layers. CONCLUSIONS : The study, which is related to voided-area analysis and remaining life prediction using FEM for pavement structures, was successfully conducted based on the comparison between our methods and the sinkhole grade used in Japan.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-80
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• 2017

PURPOSES : This paper presents a comparison study between dynamic and static analyses of falling weight deflectometer (FWD) testing, which is a test used for evaluating layered material stiffness. METHODS: In this study, a forward model, based on nonlinear subgrade models, was developed via finite element analysis using ABAQUS. The subgrade material coefficients from granular and fine-grained soils were used to represent strong and weak subgrade stiffnesses, respectively. Furthermore, the nonlinearity in the analysis of multi-load FWD deflection measured from intact PCC slab was investigated using the deflection data obtained in this study. This pavement has a 14-inch-thick PCC slab over fine-grained soil. RESULTS: From case studies related to the nonlinearity of FWD analysis measured from intact PCC slab, a nonlinear subgrade model-based comparison study between the static and dynamic analyses of nondestructive FWD tests was shown to be effectively performed; this was achieved by investigating the primary difference in pavement responses between the static and dynamic analyses as based on the nonlinearity of soil model as well as the multi-load FWD deflection. CONCLUSIONS : In conclusion, a comparison between dynamic and static FEM analyses was conducted, as based on the FEM analysis performed on various pavement structures, in order to investigate the significance of the differences in pavement responses between the static and dynamic analyses.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.335-342
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• 2003

The method of measuring ground deformation modulus, in situ-testing has the disadvantage where the exam number is limited because it needs counter weight and a lot of measurement times. Recently, it has supplemented this problem and the equipments by which measurement can be made quickly are developed and applied in field., That is Falling Weight Deflectometer(FWD), Light Drop Weight Tester(LDWT), Geogauge. Light Drop Weight Teste.(LDWT) is introduced firstly in the name of ‘a lightweight fall circuit tester for a railroad public corporation’ by KTX. Since KTX introduced LDWT, a number of research organizations have used LDWT to find out domestic standard for quality management of base ground. In this study we used ZFG 02 which was manufactured by Stendal in Germany and measured the dynamic deformation modulus in soil box and in-situ. And we analyzed the correlation of the dynamic deformation modulus with static deformation modulus based on plate test in the same ground.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.703-721
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• 2017

The experimental study of the behavior of dry medium and loose sandy soil under the action of a single impulsive load is carried out. Different falling masses from different heights were conducted using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) to provide the single pulse energy. The responses of soils were evaluated at different locations (vertically below the impact plate and horizontally away from it). These responses include; displacements, velocities, and accelerations that are developed due to the impact acting at top and different depth ratios within the soil using the falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and accelerometers (ARH-500A Waterproof, and Low capacity Acceleration Transducer) that are embedded in the soil and then recorded using the multi-recorder TMR-200. The behavior of medium and loose sandy soil was evaluated with different parameters, these are; footing embedment, depth ratios (D/B), diameter of the impact plate (B), and the applied energy. It was found that increasing footing embedment depth results in: amplitude of the force-time history increases by about 10-30%. due to increase in the degree of confinement with the increasing in the embedment, the displacement response of the soil will decrease by about 25-35% for loose sand, 35-40% for medium sand due to increase in the overburden pressure when the embedment depth increased. For surface foundation, the foundation is free to oscillate in vertical, horizontal and rocking modes. But, when embedding a footing, the surrounding soil restricts oscillation due to confinement which leads to increasing the natural frequency, moreover, soil density increases with depth because of compaction, that is, tendency to behave as a solid medium.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.261-271
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• 2003

A condition evaluation procedure for the pavement foundations using multi-load level Falling Weight Deflectometer(FWD) deflections is presented in this paper. A dynamic finite element program incorporating a stress-dependent material model, was used to generate the synthetic deflection database. Based on this synthetic database, the relationships between surface deflections and critical responses, such as stresses and strains in base and subgrade layers, have been established. FWD deflection data, Dynamic Cone Penetrometer(UP) data, and repeated load resilient modulus testing results used in developing this procedure were collected from the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) and North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) database. Research effort focused on investigation of the effect of the FWD load level on the condition evaluation procedures. The results indicate that the proposed procedure can estimate the pavement foundation conditions. It is also found that structurally adjusted Base Damage Index (BDI) and Base Curvature Index (BCI) are good indicators for the prediction of stiffness characteristics of aggregate base and subgrade respectively. A FWD test with a load of 66.7 kN or less does not improve the accuracy of this procedure. Results from the study for the nonlinear behavior of a pavement foundations indicate that the deflection ratio obtained from multi-load level deflections can predict the type and quality of the pavement foundation materials.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.45-51
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• 2021

The evaluation of the degree of compaction of the embankment area, which accounts for most of highway earthworks, is generally performed by a flat plate loading test. The plate loading test is a traditional test method and has high reliability in the field. However, as reaction force equipment must be carried out and it takes about 40 minutes per site during the test, there may be limitations in managing the entire expanse of earthworks. Meanwhile, in order to overcome this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport proposed a simple method of evaluating the level of compactness in the provisional guidelines for compaction management of the packaging infrastructure in 2010. However, it has not been utilized at the highway construction site until now, 10 years later. Therefore, this study attempted to verify the utility of the compaction evaluation method using LFWD (Light Falling Weight Deflectometer) of the impact loading method among the test methods suggested in the provisional guideline. To this end, the correlation was derived by conducting a plate loading test and an LFWD test for each site property and compaction degree. As a result of the test, there was no consistency of test data in the ground with a relative compaction of 80% or less. However, it was confirmed that the correlation has a tendency to increase beyond that. If the test method or test equipment is improved to ensure the consistency of the test values of the impact loading method in the future, it will play a big role in solving the blind spot for compaction management in the earthworks.